Operation Sindoor: How Rafale Fighter Fleet Struck 200km Deep Without Entering Pakistan Airspace
Defence analysts believe the backbone of Operation Sindoor was the Rafale fighter fleet, armed with Beyond Visual Range missiles, particularly the homegrown Gandiva
India on Wednesday launched Operation Sindoor, a meticulously executed cross-border precision strike that penetrated nearly 200 kilometres inside Pakistani territory, targeting multiple terror launchpads without breaching Pakistani airspace.
The strike, confirmed by top defence sources on condition of anonymity, is India's direct retaliation for the brutal killing of 26 tourists in the deadly Pahalgam attack last month which was traced to cross-border terror groups with long-standing bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
What makes Operation Sindoor extraordinary is the operational depth: Indian forces struck as far as Bahawalpur in Pakistan's Punjab province, long believed to be the nerve centre of terror outfits like Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Bahawalpur lies approximately 200 kilometres from the border, a distance once considered inviolable without triggering international escalation.
Yet, India seems to have executed this strike entirely from its own territory, thanks to cutting-edge advancements in missile and aviation technology. Defence analysts believe the backbone of the operation was the Rafale fighter fleet, armed with Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles, particularly the French-made MBDA Scalp cruise missiles and the homegrown Gandiva.
The MBDA Scalp has a strike range of approximately 200 kilometres, enabling India to launch attacks from within its airspace with surgical precision. Even more formidable is Gandiva, the latest entrant in the BVR class. Developed indigenously, this missile boasts a range of 340 kilometres and is capable of hitting targets from an altitude of 20 kilometres, making it the longest-range BVR missile in the world, surpassing China's PL-15 (300 km) and the US' AIM-174 (240 km).
Nine terror hideouts, primarily in PoK and Bahawalpur, were targeted and destroyed in the strike, according to intelligence sources.
This strike signals a paradigm shift in India's counter-terror doctrine. Gone are the days of visible cross-border incursions or boots on the ground. Instead, modern warfare – driven by stealth jets, AI-assisted targeting, and long-range missiles – is reshaping how nations assert their security red lines.
'Operation Sindoor is not just retaliation; it is a declaration of a new strategic era," a senior defence analyst said, adding that the operation told the adversaries that distance was no longer a shield, and sanctuary was no longer safe.
First Published:
May 07, 2025, 10:32 IST
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